Priorities

The last two weeks I have been a bit off my new normal self. I was going through the whole PMS thing and then stressing out about some life issues on top of that. So, until yesterday I hadn't worked out in the gym, and, quite honestly, I haven't been tracking my food so faithfully either.

And I'm learning something in the process of it all.

Mainly I think I've decided/learned until I reach my weight loss goal I especially need to make my weight loss a priority in my life. This past two weeks it hasn't been and I'm feeling the effects of it.

The following conversation this past Monday evening is what spurred me on to these thoughts:

Husband: Did you get to the gym today?

Me: No.

Husband: Why not?

Me: (after having already come to peace about this decision) Because I had laundry to do after my dentist visit (and lunch following, because HE, yes husband, is my dentist ), so I decided to work out at home instead.

Husband: Well, what's more important?

Me: (ignoring the question..) No one would wash and fold the laundry if I didn't, so it needed to get started.

Fast forward to later in the evening and we had a talk about some things that were stressing me out and he told me not to worry about not making it to the gym, especially when I was busy doing productive things and not being lazy.

However, after I felt so wonderful yesterday getting a good workout in at the gym I began thinking...

Yes, there is balance in all things and not getting to the gym for a week wasn't the end of the world. I did work out at home and I accomplished a lot of other things, so I wasn't lazy. But boy I sure missed it, and when I think on it I can't help but wonder if I would've made it a priority would I have felt in such a funk about the other stressors in my life.

Anyway, these are thoughts I'm pondering lately. Priorities. Balance. Focus. Making it all fit in the life of a busy mom.

A Good Day at the Gym

Hello! It seems like forever since I've blogged, so here I am.

It finally showed up, and in a rare moment of insanity I was very glad. LOL Now that I've started the emotions are calming down and I'm feeling more like my normal weight-losing self. :)

I also made it back to the gym today for a run and 30 minutes on the bike. It was a very hard, but after not having done a heavy workout in almost two weeks I wasn't surprised. I've done Walk At Home DVDs, but nothing more intense. Funny how just two weeks can have that kind of effect on a body.

Speaking of workouts, while I was riding the incumbent bike at the gym today I saw a heavyset girl jogging on a treadmill in front of me. She was probably a little larger than me at my highest weight and she was doing a great job with intervals of walking and jogging. As she got off the treadmill and turned towards me I gave her a big smile with a thumbs up and said, "You're doing AWESOME!" She grinned, a bit embarrassed and thanked me.

When I ran my first 5K in 43:44, feeling silly as I chugged on, I was cheered on by those around me. While I felt silly jogging so slow I so appreciated the encouragement. Today I paid that forward and it felt just as good to encourage as it did to receive encouragement.

Yes, it was a good day at the gym today! :)

Weigh-In ... A New Week

Today's Weight: 181 . 5

Loss/Gain: + 0 . 5

Total Loss So Far: - 49 . 5 lbs.

Last night as I lay in bed I kept thinking, I just want to weigh tomorrow and get this week over weight. I've had a good week in life, but I knew my weight was going to be up. I feel more like, "Oh well, this is life."

I've been sort of PMS all week, not as much emotional, but more like just not myself in the eating department. However, what has bugged me most...*TMI Warning* ... is I've spotted mostly this week and haven't "started" yet.

I feel like, "Could we please just get on with it already, so I can go back to my normal self?" sheesh. I'm grateful my gain wasn't any more than this, and I'll be more grateful when it finally shows up for real. Oh, the joys of womanhood and getting older. I'm thinking these are things I need to make notes of for the GYN, because it's not the first time this has happened the week before. And pardon MORE TMI...but I have it for a full 7-day duration, so prolonging things is frustrating.

However, outside of that who female issue and how it's affected some of my food choices I can say that I have exercised this week. I've been super busy with good, happy stuff, but I've gotten in a walk three days so far and will walk again today - even though I didn't want to two out of those three days so far. I told my mom, I didn't want to get into the habit of skipping exercise because I get a little busy, so even a 30-minute walk was better than nothing.

So, to sum it up.... I'm not upset about this little gain. It's life and TGIF today means for me it's the beginning of a new week in my weight loss journey, where I can get back on track and see that scale move back down.

I'd love to break 180 this week, but we'll see. This is a lifelong change and I'm so glad to still be down and having not quit after all this time.

Oh, and here's a little something to put a smile on your face...we're having a "baby shower" for our church's nursery - to replace old broken toys with some newer ones. So, I made a card to go with my gift. The little smiling stick kid drawings on this card always make me smile when I use them in digi scrapping. Hope they make you smile too! :)

Card made using mostly items from Giggle Box kit at Shabby Princess.

Running Scripture

I have a friend who is a runner, and fellow Christian, and I made this for her today.

I liked it so much I decided to put it on my blog (see top of right side bar).

This is for my personal use and not for sale; however, feel free to take it and use it on your blog if you're so inclined. The digital kit I used is called Run Collection Mini and can be found over at Scrap Girls.

Beef & Not So Good

UPDATED: I also just remembered...for the reasons I posted about below, I refrained from purchasing any more spring colored M&Ms for our dispenser or the theatre-sized box of Raisinets that I so wanted at Wal-Mart this evening...I just can't trust myself around them right now. This is progress, right? Yay!

Okay, on to the post I wrote about 30 minutes ago....

The past couple of days haven't been that well for me food-wise. Lordy! The analytical side of me thinks "it" is coming because I've had desserts and larger portions and not even cared.

The I-don't-care-attitude is usually the giveaway. We'll see...I'm not perfectly regular, so I only ever know approximately when it will show up.

That attitude carried over into a dinner at Golden Corral last night. I had done fine during the day, but didn't have a high calorie budget left for dinner. It wasn't a planned trip, so I would've been okay had my original plans worked out.

Anyway... I didn't eat like I used to there (I rarely do any more), but I had almost two entire yeast rolls plus a small brownie and raisinets. Oh my, they were good, but I wasn't feeling too hot the rest of the evening from my trip to a buffet for dinner.

So, the rest of this week is trying to rescue myself and we'll see what happens. I'm only slightly upset, because this is life and it always has a way of messing with me at least once a month...there's a week or so left in this month and I've been left alone thus far. :)

I have to tell you that my husband asked if I was going to blog about how we had grilled steak at Golden Buffet our first weeknight after Fish Week. He thought it would be funny.

Even funnier to me We're having grilled fish tacos tonight. LOL

Celebrating 50

I decided to create a digital page for my 8x8 album about myself to share how I celebrated reaching 50 pounds lost last Friday. These last five pounds have been such a breakthrough for me that it was so much more than a number.

In case you can't read the journaling (or tell by the picture) I had a "deluxe" pedicure done to celebrate this milestone. It was glorious as the lady took such good care of me while I sat enjoying the massage chair for a solid 30 minutes. :)

Fish Week - Friday

Friday's Dinner:

Grilled Salmon and Swai fillets with Cajun Seasoning

Seasoned Grilled Vegetables

Yellow Rice

Family's Opinion: Wonderful! Awesome! Yummy! We've eaten veggies grilled like this plenty of times, as kabobs, and they are always a hit.

My plate held 1 1/2 oz. salmon, 2 1/4 oz swai fish, 4 3/4 oz vegetables and 1/4 cup rice for approximately 225 calories. The calories almost seem too good to be true, but I know cutting the rice to half of what I had on Monday and eating grilled veggies can be very light. I was plenty satisfied with this plate of food.

Tonight's meal was grilled by my own wonderful husband. He took care of it from beginning to end. I simply made more of the rice I made on Monday night and made sure the table was set and plates were made up. He is an awesome grill chef and loves to do it.

We all agreed that Fish Week was a hit and we will definitely be adding more fish into our diet. Now we are going to try different kinds of fish and some scallops too.

Favorites:

• Twin A - Tonight's grilled fish and veggies, with the tacos coming in at a close second.
• Twin B - Fish Tacos
• Son - Today's Grilled meal.
• Husband loved all of them.
• I loved the ceviche and tacos the best.

RECIPES

Grilled Swai & Salmon Fillets

by my husband

The fish was sprinkled with a Cajun Seasoning we bought from a local vendor at the swap meet and then set to marinate in a dish until time to grill. They were grilled on cedar planks that had been soaking in water since this morning.

Grilled Vegetables

by my husband

I didn't watch him from the beginning to get amounts, but here's an idea of what he did.

• Zucchini, cut into thick slices
• Yellow Squash, cut into thick slices
• Pearl onions, peeled of their skins and left whole
• Red & Green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• Asparagus
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Season Salt
• Pepper

Rinse and pat dry all vegetables. Spray with Pam or lightly mist with oil. Toss all but asparagus with seasonings to your tastes.

Skewer all but asparagus in a variety of patterns onto kabob skewers and take all vegetables out to grill.

The asparagus cooked quickly, but the kabobs took a little longer. Grill to desired doneness. If they get cold while your meat is cooking (as ours did tonight) put vegetables onto a microwave-safe dish and heat up for about 30 seconds on high.

Yellow Rice

by McCormick off the Turmeric Canister

I omitted the peas from this for our meal.

I want you to know that I apologize for the bad quality of photos (yellow tinge). I have mainly florescent lighting and no cool light box like Lori. :) Someday....

In the meantime, I really enjoyed this little venture of ours and hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Weigh-In ... FIFTY & Pictures

Today's Weight: 181.0

Loss/Gain: -1.5

Total Loss So Far: - 50.0 lbs !!!

I weigh myself daily and had a feeling I would see this today. I was a bit nervous (because of my double helpings of dinner last night), but excited too.

Since I hit fifty pounds lost I decided it was a good time to update my progress pictures. The entire album of progression pictures is at the bottom of this post. Here are some pictures to compare 0 to -50. I'm wearing the same t-shirt, but different bottoms.

Beginning weight: 231.0 lbs. - May 2009

Today's weight: 181.0 lbs.

I am 5' 4".

I'm very happy to be down so close to 180. The last five pounds have been a real breakthrough for me. It's funny, because it's not this very excited, thrilled that I'm sticking to a diet feeling. It's more like I'm noticing my desires towards food are changing and I haven't felt deprived at all in the process. I'm finding myself more in control of food and it's a wonderful feeling.

I know I've had a great breakthrough in my life and while I still have to take it a day at a time I have greater confidence now more than ever that I will reach my weight loss goal.

Weight Loss Progression Pics

Fish Week - Thursday

Dinner Thursday night was, for lack of a better name...

Leah's Cooked Shrimp Ceviche Dish

Corn Tortilla Chips

Family's Opinion: I make this often and only three of us love it. I usually make it along with something else, but tonight I served it by itself for the sake of Fish Week.

My daughter that doesn't like shrimp ate it without complaining. My son had a harder time with it as he doesn't like tomatoes or onions.

My plate held one cup of shrimp ceviche and one serving of tortilla chips...twice. Um, yea... I was hungry and this stuff is addicting. I could've done without the second serving of tortilla chips since I had some frozen yogurt earlier in the day, but I didn't.

One cup of the ceviche is about 175 calories and one serving of tortilla chips (Yes, I actually weigh mine to be exact) is 140 calores, so a single (and usually plenty) serving is about 315 calories.

Ceviche is a mexican dish that is usually made with raw fish that has been marinating in lime or lemon juice until the acids from the juice "cook" it. However, I made this up once a couple of years ago using cooked shrimp to go along with some tacos when we were having people over. It has basically everything in regular ceviche, but it's not authentic, because I use cooked meat.

RECIPE

Leah's Cooked Shrimp Ceviche

by me. :)

I usually just throw this together, but last night I was careful to watch amounts to give you a good idea of what should go in here. You can add more or less of whatever you want.

• 1 pound large cooked shrimp, shelled and cut into smaller pieces ( if you use small or tiny shrimp you don't have to cut it up - I've done that before) *
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 2 cucumbers, diced
• 1 medium - large white onion, diced
• 3 small avocados, cubed ( or 2 large)
• 1 bunch (maybe about 1-2 cups) cilantro, cut up
• 1 serrano pepper, minced *optional*
• Juice from 3-5 large limes (to taste)
• approx. 1 Tbsp. garlic powder, to taste
• approx 2 tsp. dried oregano, to taste
• salt to taste, some like more some less. I use more, because I think anything is good with lime and salt on it!! :)

Add everything to a large bowl and stir until your spices and lime juice have had time to mingle with the vegetables. Eat right away with corn tortilla chips, a fork or like a tostada on a corn tostada shell.

This is a great make-ahead dish that tastes even better when it's had some time to sit and marinate.

Everyone that's tried this dish has loved it - even the lady who is allergic to shrimp and was wondering why her throat was getting scratchy all of the sudden...she hadn't seen the pieces in it, nor did I know she had an allergy so I didn't warn her..oops. So, if you don't like shrimp, feel free to try other fish or none at all is really good too! :)

This is something I already make regularly and so I will continue to do so. I love it mostly during warmer weather. It's so fresh and light!

I don't think I'll serve it as a main meal again for the sake of the two family members that really don't like it. :) We make our kids eat whatever is served to them and last night they made it through that, but I'll continue serving it alongside something else like normal from now on. :)

Fish Week - Wednesday

First off...did I mention it is Spring Break for us this week? Yes, so things got a little hectic and busy from Wednesday night until this morning and thus the reason I'm just now posting two days of dinners.... Thank you for your patience.

Dinner Wednesday night was:

Fish Tacos

Family's Opinion: Wonderful!! My son said, "Magnificent!" Then he says, "Who's idea was it to do fish week anyway? It's a great idea!!" :) Yes, these tacos were THAT good. As some friends of our would say, they were the bomb. O. M. G.

My plate held two corn tortillas with 2 oz. of fish in each, less than 1 oz. of shredded cabbage, approx 2 tsp. crema (one on each) and the juice from two key limes. This is a salad plate, so it looks fuller. It was approximately 275-300 calories for both. And so good (and low-cal) I ended up having just one more...

RECIPE

Fish Taco

by Alton Brown on The Food Network

I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of two things:

1. I used some Swai fish fillets we already had on hand (out of a bag of frozen fillets we bought at Wal-Mart) instead of tilapia.
2. I used corn tortillas instead of flour. My husband is mexican and they don't serve fish tacos on flour tortillas. Plus, corn is always less calories than flour, so I was very happy to substitute.

This is a recipe we will most definitely make again. The marinade for the fish was awesome and you only need to marinate it for about 20 minutes. I had leftover marinade and added more fish to it to freeze and use again soon.

With temperatures rising soon, this will be a perfect fresh and light meal we will be having again!

Fish Week - Tuesday

On the menu tonight for Fish Week was:

Emeril's Shrimp and Pasta with Chilis, Garlic, Lemon and Green Onions (yes, the title was really that long. LOL )

Steamed Broccoli

Family's Opinion: SPICY! While my husband and I loved the spice, we all agreed a little less crushed red pepper next time would be best. Otherwise, it was another hit with everyone, but one daughter who doesn't care for shrimp anyway. She also said that the pasta tasted to much like ... pasta. She couldn't explain, but I think my explanation below is why she felt this way.

My plate held 4 oz. pasta (we splurged on regular, white pasta), 2 oz. shrimp and 3 oz. broccoli for approximately 320 calories. Again, not too bad and left me feeling plenty satisfied. Now on to my comments about the meal.

I omitted the butter from this recipe and I think it left the pasta a bit dry. I'll have to figure out what to do to rectify that, or decide if 4 tablespoons of butter is worth the calories when splitting it up so much.

Also, the pasta to shrimp ratio was a little much for us. As in (in case I got this wrong) too much pasta for the amount of shrimp. My family is not big on pasta. Personally, I could eat it daily and lots of it, but I even added more shrimp than one serving was probably supposed to have. The pasta drowned out the meat a bit. I'll end up tossing some of the leftover pasta and keeping only enough for the amount of shrimp left.

Will I make this again? You bet!! It was nice to have a tasty dish that was low in calories, high in flavor!

RECIPES

Emeril's Shrimp and Pasta with Chilis, Garlic, Lemon and Green Onions

taken from the Food Network

Steamed Broccoli

Done myself at home. No extra spices, just water and fresh broccoli.

Fish Week - Monday

My husband got this brilliant idea to do a "Fish Week" where we eat fish every night for a week. I asked him today if there was a specific point behind it, to which he replied, "Not really. It's just that we always say we're going to eat fish and we never do."

I also think it was an attempt to try some healthier dishes, because on top of eating fish we agreed that nothing would be breaded or fried. We both enjoying cooking and trying new recipes, so this should be fun.

I also thought it would be fun to share our fish-week adventure with you. So, I will take a picture of each meal we eat and share the recipes and the family's opinion of the meal. The recipe name will be the link unless other directions follow.

Fish Week - Monday

Slow- Roasted Salmon

Yellow Rice

Sauteed Asparagus

Family's Opinion: It was a hit!! The kids loved the salmon and decided the asparagus wasn't too bad either. Husband and I loved it all.

My plate (pictured) held 3 1/2 oz. of salmon, 1/2 c. yellow rice and 2 oz. asparagus for a total of approximately 250-275 calories.

RECIPES

Slow-Roasted Salmon - Taken from the Food Network Kitchens

Yellow Rice - Taken from McCormick Turmeric Spice Jar

Sauteed Asparagus - Done on my own as follows:

Heat skillet and spray with Olive Oil Pam Spray. Toss in rinsed asparagus. Sprinkle with kosher salt and ground pepper. Sautee a few minutes and then turn over. Asparagus done when tested with a fork and found to be crisp tender. I do this in small batches so that they are in a single layer cooking evenly in the skillet.

I'm excited to try our other new recipes. There will be mexican flavors, some grilling and a few other things.

How about you? Do you ever branch out and try new recipes? If so, what new things have you tried in the kitchen since you've been on your weight loss journey?

Run Like In the Wind

Short Story: I ran outside on a beautiful, albeit WINDY day though I was very nervous and scared to.

Long Story: It was a dark and stormy night... NOT... :)

Friday was a beautiful, sunny high 60s here in our part of Oklahoma. It was gorgeous - WINDY, but gorgeous.

A friend of mine in Arizona texts me in the morning that she was headed out for her run and I got this idea, "Since the kids are home today I should take them to the park and go run outside for my workout."

Then I got nervous and tried to talk myself out of it. I even had a good chat with a friend in the afternoon and told her about my fears with regards to running outside. I told her I might still go to the park, but I really doubted I'd run.

It's the wind that scares me. And the use of different muscles. And the wind. And some smoky air we had from grass fires nearby that day. And the wind.

Yea, so in the gym the only wind is the huge fans and I love that kind of breeze. Outside, here where the "winds go blowing down the plains.." it's a whole different story. It really can be tough to run. I know it's only tough for half the track, because it's an oval, but still. It scares me.

I think it's also a great mind battle for me. When I'm running on the treadmill my feet have to keep up with it, or I can slow it down. Usually I can psyche myself up to keep up the pace for however many more minutes, but outside I don't have that ability. I get a little winded, or am running against a strong gust of wind and feel like I can't do it.

Or... I see other people running and realize just how slow I really am. On the treadmills everyone is in the same row as me, no matter how fast they run. Outside I'm faced with the stark reality that I'm a very slow beginner "runner".

All of this makes me nervous to run outside. So, I went to the park with the intentions of walking, unless I couldn't stand it and decided to try and run. This has happened before in the past.

Well, of course, I couldn't stand it. I stretched really good, and started out at a good jog. I allowed myself to be a little slower than the 12:00 min mile I can do on the treadmill, but not too slow. Thanks to my new Garmin I got for Christmas I was able to keep track of my pace - that's another story for another time.

I finished up two miles in 25:49 - slower by just under 2 minutes from my treadmill time. Not too shabby for a windy afternoon, and my first outdoor run in almost six months. I then proceeded to speed walk another 2 miles (yea, about 4.0 mph speed and passed the other walking people, like you, Diane!!!).

It was a great workout and I'm so glad I faced my fears and did the run outside. It was a nice feeling and having my little "coach" in the shape of my Garmin really helped me realize I could do this.

There just might be more outside runs in the future. If I can keep this up I might someday just be able to run like the wind instead of solely in the wind. :)

Weigh-In ... Contentedly Happy

Today's Weight: 182.5

Loss/Gain: - 2.0

Total Loss So Far: - 48.5 lbs.

Last week I said that you get what you pay for. It goes both ways, doesn't it? This week I was focused and got what I paid for. I feel a sort of contented happiness today. I'm learning to be content with the food my body needs and I'm happy to see a lighter weight Leah emerge.

I've taken some time over the past couple of weeks to take my food issues before God in prayer once again. Some day I'll post more about that part of the journey, but for today suffice it to say today I know he has heard my prayers.

I'm so grateful to God for his mercy that endures forever. My weight loss journey is about so much more than losing a few pounds, it's about a deliverance from a food addiction. It's a slower journey, but it's a life changing one that I know will only lead to a more disciplined and emotionally strong Leah. Being thin and fit will simply be the icing on the cake! (pardon the phrase. LOL )

Random Workout Thoughts

Here's a few thoughts that went through my head today as I jogged 27 minutes on the treadmill and rode 7.0 miles on the bike in 30 minutes today (yes, a little proud of my hard workout... LOL )

• Dumb wispy hairs - I need to get one of those larger headbands that stays put.

• New music...hey..(BIG SMILE while jogging) when I first bought this workout track of Bubbly I was barely using the elliptical and not jogging. Now I jog..at a 12:00 min mile pace for almost 30 minutes!! Go me!!

• I'm going to walk for two minutes now to catch my breath and then finish up this jogging.

• Hey, this song has good drums! (Playing drums with hands while speed walking) Makes the time go by fast too. Funny how concentrating on the drums took my mind off the pace of my exercise.

• You're almost done...(finishing up jogging)

• I love the bike in the gym...I can close my eyes and ride and not crash into anything!

• Oh my! Going to have to remind [husband] to please NEVER wear shortie running shorts when he gets old and gray...no matter how fit he is and no matter how much I think he looks hot. ew...didn't need that visual. (yes, I texted him later to please promise me this...it wasn't a pleasant site to behold. Glad the guy is fit, but longer shorts would've been nice. BIG LOL)

• I am so tired now, but I feel so good!!! (Stretching)

Have you ever written out things that go through your mind when you're working out? I love to hear some of them.

Learning To Go With The Flow

I had an extremely long post about how my plans to be home doing laundry today were changed late Saturday. I had written about how it almost threw me into a stressed out-what-am-I-going-to-do mode, and then how I took a deep breath and relaxed.

But I deleted the lengthy, laborious post and I'll just suffice it to say that before getting too stressed out on Saturday night I reminded myself that everything will be fine.

The laundry can and will get done. The planned trip to the gym can and will be done another day. I knew I could still get up to exercise before work and that would be enough for the day.

Part of making this a lifestyle change is learning to go with the flow when plans change. I did this and it has gone fine.

I got up this morning at 5:45 to do a 30-minute Walk At Home DVD before getting on with my morning before work. I've also done two loads of laundry this evening.

Tomorrow I work half a day, so I should be able to get to the gym or at least get a full hour DVD workout in at home while getting more laundry washed before going in to work.

I guess this is another one of those non-scale victories. Moments when I realize life is happening and I'm doing good. Hooray! :)

Weigh-In ... Accountability & Blooms

Today's Weight: 184.5

Loss/Gain: - 0.5 lb

Total Loss So Far: -46.5 lbs

This loss pretty much reflects my week. I've had some higher calorie days and less exercise than the week before. That combination doesn't make for a high loss. However, I am grateful for the half pound down. You do get what you pay for in this journey.

I've thought more about the accountability partner thing and decided against it. I'd rather stick to keeping up on my blog and the accountability to my blogland friends (and "real" friends who follow my blog...scary.. )

The friend I was thinking of being accountable to is training for a half marathon and I'm not even sure if she is trying for more weight loss. I also did not want to burden her down with having to hear my every calorie count, etc. I have a dear friend who has been my support and encouragement through this journey from day one, and even before that. Between her, my husband, my mom and blogging I have more than enough chances to be accountable.

When I told my girlfriend that I decided against the whole accountability partner thing she agreed, and commented that it's hard to do that daily. It was kind of a confirmation that I might've been putting her in a hard place by asking her in the first place. She would've done it to help me, but I'm glad I didn't make her do that.

Anyway, that's that. Here's my exercise this past week:

Saturday - None @ gym. Cleaned house, did ALL the laundry, gardened and took care of the meals all day. It was a very full day that left me feeling very accomplished, but exhausted as well. I think my workout was chores that day. :)

Sunday - None.

Monday - None...lazy morning. Posted here about that.

Tuesday - 30 min. 2-mile walking DVD before work.

Wednesday - 30 min jog and 30 mins on bike at gym.

Thursday - None before work.

Friday - Going to gym today for 30 mins on bike and 30 jogging or elliptical.

My allergies have been going crazy the past three days, so Thursday I had no guilty feelings for not getting up before work to exercise. My head seems to have been aching straight through these days. However, when these bloomed in front of my house this week it made the allergies almost seem worth the hassle and pain. :)

You know...I also want to thank those of you who keep following and sharing words of experience and encouragement. I know I'm not the best example of how to lose weight, but this is my journey and as long as I don't quit I'm okay with that.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Running NSV

I had a major running non-scale victory today. I jogged at 5.0 mph (a 12:00 min mile) for 25 minutes straight through. My new personal best for two miles is 24:00 minutes. Woo Hoo!!!

Somehow I got it in my head to start running at 5.0 mph, which is the highest I run at for intervals on the treadmill. It was going fine and when I knew I could keep going past five minutes I went ahead and kept going.

I soon realized I could probably make it to twenty minutes. As that neared I knew I could do a bit more, so I told myself 2 miles or 25 minutes. I hit two miles at 24:00 and decided to stick out that last, hard minute just because I could.

I think I could've ran the entire 30 minutes at 5.0, but I was so done at 25 minutes and didn't feel like pushing through those last five minutes. I know it was only five minutes, but it was already getting hard and I was content to stop and be pleased with how good I did.

Allergies have been bothering me like crazy lately and I still had the bike to do for 30 minutes. So, I started a cool down jog for the last five minutes and marveled at how just a year ago I was doing the Couch to 5K program and being thrilled to "run" at 4.0 mph for a full 30 minutes.

It was a great workout today! Now I'm off to bed...to rest these weary legs. :)

Working and Working Out

Short Story:

I learned the best time for me to exercise on the days I work (I'm a part-time substitute teacher) is in the early mornings. It won't be an intense hour at the gym, but it will be better than nothing and I won't have to feel like I sacrificed my evening with the family for it. And...I'm not minding the getting up earlier, because it leaves me feeling great all day. :)

Long Story: (This is kind of rambling, but I don't have time to "clean up" my writing tonight.)

I worked yesterday and today. Last week I got up early to exercise on the days I worked, but yesterday I wasn't feeling like it. As I laid in bed I told myself I would workout in the evening. I knew Freddy wouldn't mind if I went to the gym, and I could even do a quick 30-minute DVD at home if that was all I had time for.

Well, I felt guilty and horribly all morning for "skipping" my workout. Why? Because I know that when I'm working (and one daughter has ballet after school) we don't eat dinner until around 7:00 pm. In order to care for my house after dinner, spend some time with the kids, get things ready for another day's work and get to bed at at decent time I don't have extra minutes for exercise. I could skip my household duties and ignore my children to get a workout done and get to bed on time, but that's not my thing.

Around lunchtime I texted my husband to tell him I didn't think I'd go to the gym in the evening after all. I explained that I didn't want to ignore the family for the evening just to fit in exercise and he agreed that was fine.

After him basically telling me he thought it was okay I was fine. No more guilty feelings. Though this may not be a popular thing in the health world, my family comes before my exercise. If I'm so busy that I have to choose between spending some time around the family or getting exercise in, I will almost always choose my family. There is balance there, but that's how my priorities go. My kids won't always be around forever, but the opportunities to exercise will.

So... while I felt better emotionally for the rest of yesterday for just deciding to skip the workout for the day I also learned something. If I am going to get exercise in while working I must get up and do it in the morning. I did it last week and after not doing it yesterday I realized that really is the best thing.

So, today I did. I was up and starting my 2-mile Walk At Home Leslie Sansone DVD by 6:00 am. I got a good brisk 30 minutes of exercise in, showered, got twins off to school, did devotions, got myself and son off to school and felt better all day for it. :)

And now...I've paused to think...lost my train of thought (hubby is watching over my shoulder because he wants to use the computer), so....I should probably get to bed now.

Hopefully I've have more clarified thoughts later in the week. :)

Oh, yea...now I remember. The neatest thing I've learned from this observation is that I haven't minded getting up early to exercise before work. It's not the most intense workout like running, but it gets the blood pumping and me going. I step up the walking workouts to make myself sweat, so I know I'm getting a decent workout in. I also have notice that I feel so much better throughout the day for doing it, which makes it easier to get up the next time. (except for Mondays when you stayed up too late the night before... LOL )

I guess that's it for now. G'nite!